Posted on 09/11/2001 10:59:31 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
International airlines scrambled to divert or cancel flights to the United States on Tuesday following a wave of airborne terror attacks on New York and Washington, stranding passengers or sending them to airports hundreds of miles from their destinations.The cancellations and diversions caused confusion and congestion at many airports, as airlines ordered U.S.-bound flights to do U-turns or find alternate landing points outside the United States.
Some airlines reversed course only after being denied permission to land by the Federal Aviation Administration, which ordered U.S. airspace shut down in response to the apparent hijacking of domestic passenger jets by suicide bombers.
The runway of Mexico City's international airport was clogged as it received about 40 diverted flights — mainly planes from South America bound for Houston, Miami and Los Angeles.
More than 100 international flights were rerouted to Canada on Tuesday, said FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown. Others went to Bermuda.
Stranded at Madrid's Barajas International Airport, Edward Elton said he had planned to be back at work Wednesday morning on the 71st floor of the World Trade Center and was waiting for his flight when he heard that the buildings were destroyed.
``All I can think about now is my friends,'' said the 47-year-old engineer, referring to fellow employees at the office who survived the 1993 attack on the center. ``I just hope they're OK,'' he said, barely able to speak. His wife broke into sobs.
Trans-Atlantic commercial flights were not expected to resume before Wednesday afternoon, according to the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, or Eurocontrol.
``My guess is that it will take 24 hours,'' said Gerard Stadler, a director of Eurocontrol, which is based in Brussels and has 30 European member states.
Stadler would not say how many aircraft were turned around Tuesday, but he said there are normally about 500 westbound Atlantic crossings per day, with each flight carrying about 400 passengers.
Hong Kong's international airport, one of Asia's busiest hubs, canceled all U.S.-bound flights Wednesday. The airport authority's Web site showed that at least six United flights, one Continental flight and two Air Canada flights were canceled.
China and Taiwan also canceled all commercial flights to the United States. Tokyo's Narita International Airport said a combined 170 flights — both arrivals and departures — were expected to be canceled.
Security was tightened at airports worldwide as authorities feared further hijackings and terrorist attacks.
In the Cayman Islands, the Owen Roberts Airport was evacuated after suspicious baggage was left beside the American Airlines check-in desk. The airport was reopened after authorities determined the bag only contained a computer and a scanner.
A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 flying from Rome, Italy, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, made an emergency landing at Athens International Airport after receiving a bomb threat. Anti-terrorist squads evacuated the passenger jet but found nothing in a search, airport officials said.
Israel closed its airspace to foreign carriers for at least 24 hours. Britain and Belgium banned commercial flights over their capitals, London and Brussels. At London's Heathrow airport, armed police patrolled airline desks belonging to American and United Airlines.
``No flights will take off from the U.K. for which we cannot apply the highest standards of security for aircrew and passengers. Private flights have been stopped except where specifically authorized,'' British Prime Minister Tony Blair said.
``Flight paths into London have been changed so there will be no civil flights over central London,'' he said.
In South Korea, television helmeted security forces on patrol at Incheon international airport.
British Airways, Lufthansa, Alitalia, Sabena and KLM also canceled flights scheduled to Beirut, Lebanon on Tuesday.
Italian airport authorities canceled flights to the Middle East and recalled flights to the United States. The national carrier, Alitalia, said it was canceling Wednesday's flights from Milan's Malpensa airport to the United States, Canada and the Middle East, the ANSA news agency said.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines said it had canceled flights to and from the United States, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. About 5,000 people from 20 canceled flights were stranded at Schiphol international airport outside Amsterdam.
A Swissair flight carrying Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides, bound from Zurich to New York, turned back over the Atlantic Ocean after being denied permission to land, Cypriot radio reported.
``Today's events will cast a 20-year shadow over international civil aviation,'' said Phil Butterworth-Hayes, civil aviation editor of the Jane's publishing group in Britain.
``It will be a bigger shadow than the one cast by the Lockerbie crash and the restrictions on civil aviation will be immense,'' he said, referring to the Pam Am jumbo jet bombing that killed 270 people in 1988.
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